SURFING FINALISTS DECIDED IN THE SOUTH AMERICNA BEACH GAMES

Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela made it to the finals of the surfing contest of the 1st South American Beach Games

1st South American Beach Games
Punta del Este Uruguay
December 10, 2009

Finalists were decided on a glorious second day of the surfing event of the 1st South American Beach Games. Good waves and awesome surfing performances along with the camaraderie of the six competing nations showed the world a fantastic Olympic spirit on the sands of Montoya beach.

Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela now have a shot to make it to the finals podium in the Open Men, Open Women and Aloha Cup divisions. Finalists were defined in each of these divisions after a total of 20 heats.

Alejo Muniz and Jadson André from Brazil, along with Rafael Pereira from Venezuela and Leandro Usuna from Argentina will fight for the gold, silver and bronze medal in the Open Men division. Brazil has positioned themselves to receive a medal in any given scenario.

Meanwhile, on the ladies side, the medals will be delivered after a tough fight between the excellent surfing of the Peruvians and Brazilians girls. Valeria Solé and Analí Gómez from Peru will face Gabriela Leite and Camila Cassia from Brazil in the grand final. Peru and Brazil have positioned themselves to secure all medals in this division.

The Aloha Cup, Tag Team semifinals were a total success, attracting the attention of the fans on the beach. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay had a tough first heat that ended up with the first two making it to the final. In the second semifinal, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador gave an awesome display of surfing. It was a close heat that ended with Venezuela in first and Peru in second. They will meet their Brazilian and Argentinean counterparts in the big final.

With a fading swell with excellent wind conditions forecasted for tomorrow, Organizers will make a call at 7:00am to decide if the event will end tomorrow or on Sunday, when an arriving big swell is expected to hit the shores of Montoya beach.

FOLLOW THE BEACH GAMESThe official website of the South American Beach Games is www.uruguay2009.com. The dedicated Surfing contest website is www.surfingbeachgames.com. There you will find the results, photos, videos and all the news of surfing in the Beach Games.

About the International Surfing Association
The International Surfing Association (ISA), founded in 1964, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing, StandUp Paddle (SUP) Racing and Surfing, Bodysurfing, Wakesurfing, and all other wave riding activities on any type of waves, and on flat water using wave riding equipment. The ISA crowned its first Men’s and Women’s World Champions in 1964. It crowned the first Big Wave World Champion in 1965; World Junior Champion in 1980; World Kneeboard Champions in 1982; World Longboard Surfing and World Bodyboard Champions in 1988; World Tandem Surfing Champions in 2006; World Masters Champions in 2007; and World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Champions in 2012.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies of 100 countries on five continents. Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (Argentina), first elected President in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro. The ISA’s four Vice-Presidents are Karín Sierralta (PER), Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Casper Steinfath (DEN) and Barbara Kendall (NZL).